When Bette came home hours later, she found a note on the table saying that she was staying over at her friend Helena’s for a while and she’d call her later.

Bette walked through the house like a zombie, she still couldn’t believe she had actually told Tina about her true feelings. It really was the most stupid thing she could have done. She wanted to be alone with a huge pot of ice cream and some sappy movies. She ended up watching A Christmas Carol – in August. She was miserable, the loss of Tina was so unbearable. It felt like someone had stabbed her in the heart. She couldn’t take the idea of not having Tina in her life anymore, she barely remembered how it was not having her around. Yes, she had said she was willing to do everything to make her happy, even if that meant staying away from her… but it was so damn hard and lonely.

During the next three weeks, Bette didn’t hear or see Tina. It really worried her, what if something had happened? And she didn’t know? She didn’t even come to pick up clothes or other stuff. Bette remembered that last time she had been home, she had left her laptop at work, not feeling like taking work home.

At work, things weren’t running smoothly either. They had to deal with a very demanding artist, Jodi Lerner. They had no choice but to give her what she wanted, since she was extremely famous and good for the gallery’s reputation. Bette couldn’t stand to be around Rachel anymore, the woman who had hurt Tina so much, the woman who had chatted up the woman she knew Bette really liked, who had started an affair with her.

On top of that, Jodi wasn’t very subtle in letting Bette know she was interested in her in more ways than one. Bette didn’t feel like flirting with Jodi, she didn’t want anyone but Tina… Tina who seemed to have disappeared.

Bette didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know if she should get rid of the clothes that reminded her of the blonde each and every day – what if she came back? Wasn’t it stupid to hope she would come back? Why did she leave all her stuff?